Henua's National Symbols
Royal Standard
The royal flag dates from the late eighteenth century when Henua were first exposed to European vexilology and flagsmanship. Made of traditional fabrics, it depicts an ancient glyph in orange representing a sooty tern, symbol of the Tangata Manu or Birdman, one of the most sacred titles of Henua's king. The image is placed on a white or off-white field. The style of the tern is derived from Henua petroglyphs that predate writing on the island. The modern flag uses a slightly more smooth-looking form influenced by Japanese aesthetics, as seen in the royal mon.
Image by Marc Pasquin
Mon
A mon or kamon (in Henua, kamono) is a family badge in Henua heraldry, an idea imported from Japan in the late nineteenth century. Henua's mon was officially adopted in 1888. It depicts a sooty tern, essentially the same image as the royal flag, placed inside a circle. Mon are traditionally family symbols, but as Henua's monarchy is non-heredetary, it is used to represent the royal office and, by extension, the entire country. Mon can be in any color; most commonly Henua's national mon is shown in orange or red, as used on the royal flag; green, Henua's national color; or gold, as embossed on Henua passports.
Image based on Marc Pasquin's flag
National Flag
Henua used its royal flag to represent itself until 1959, when it created a separate national flag. The honu, or turtle, had already been used as a symbol for the island for many years because of its longevity, intelligence, and steadfastness. It is also a sacred animal throughout Polynesia and a very old motif in Henua art.
The flag depicts a yellow honu on a green disc representing the island. The blue field represents the Pacific Ocean. Around the edge of the disc is a yellow rising sun representing hope for the future and Henua's location at the eastern end of Oceania. The rays projecting out from the center reflect Henua's position at the "navel of the world". Turned on its side, the sun and its rays resemble a canoe with oars pointed downward.
Thanks to Marc Pasquin for help with this design.
Air Force Roundel
Henua's air force dates to 1983 when it acquired two airships as part of a larger project to expand its aerodrome to accomodate more tourists. Its first two patrol airships were marked with a green circle inset with a simplified outline of the national honu in yellow.
Image based on Marc Pasquin's flag
License Plate Code
Cars are very rare on Henua, and rarer still is the need or opportunity to take one's car off the island. Why would anyone bother to take a car all the way to Henua only to take it somewhere else, you might ask. Still, those Henua who are blessed with automobiles like putting this sticker on their cars just for driving around the island, and tourists enjoy buying unauthorized versions of it. It features Henua's country code, he, as a syllabic abbreviation in Rongorongo and Japanese, as well as the Latin letters HE.
Moai
Henua's most recognizable national symbol is undoubtedly its landscape covered with enormous stone moai statues. The moai have stood for different things at different times, but have always been an important part of Henua religion and culture. Before the sixteenth century, clans and influential men competed to build moai; the scale of building nearly destroyed the island's ecology. Today, they may only be built on orders of the king.
Each king erects a moai upon his elevation to the throne and occasionally to comemorate events that are particularly momentous. It is similar to the way Chinese emperors chose their Era Names. Moai depict the kings themselves, ancestors, and deities. Two foreigners, Japanese Emperor Meidji and Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, have moai in their honor. Their shrines are called Ahu Me'i and Ahu Haile. Ahu Me'i also includes a torii, a traditional Japanese Shinto temple gate.
Only two moai have ever been built off of Henua. One is on Henua's "colony" of Motu Motiro Hiva, built in 1878 after a treaty secured Henua control of the islet forever. The other was built in Toquio, Japan, for Emperor Meidjin in 1884.
Foreign styles began to influence the moai beginning in the nineteenth century. For a period they became more representational and less idealized. Ahu Me'i, for example, is immediately recognizable as the Japanese Emperor. Since the 1950s there has been a return to traditional abstractness, but artists have sought more distinctive individual styles. On at least three occasions, kings have invited foreign artists to design moai.
Since the rise of the tourist trade in the 1970s-80s, some Henua artists have made miniature moai in styles ranging from the traditional to the avant-garde to the frivolous: a controversial field of moai depicting Western film stars was installed in the 1990s, much to the chagrin of the Ariki, who universlly condemned it as a "crass misuse of our sacred symbols to separate buffoonish tourists from their money." And indeed, "Ahu Muvi" has proven one of the most popular stops for foreign visitors eager to fork over a few peto in exchange for a souvenier.
Sponsored by the Tourism Advisorate, Council of Te Pito O Te Henua, in cooperation with the Commission for Offshore Preservation, Ecotopic Republic of Oregon.
